West Ham United are reportedly interested in signing Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos, who is currently on loan at VfB Stuttgart.
According to a report from German publication BILD, West Ham United have set their sights on Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos who is enjoying a solid spell away on loan at VfB Stuttgart.
Mavropanos came through the ranks at Greek club Apollon Smyrnis and spent a couple of years at PAS Giannina before making his way to Arsenal in January 2018. The defender made his first-team debut three months later under Arsene Wenger but never quite managed to establish a foothold in the team.
After two years at the club, during which he managed just eight appearances, Mavropanos left Arsenal on loan for FC Nurnberg in January 2020. He had a six-month temporary stint with the club before returning to Germany again in the summer of last year, signing for Stuttgart on a two-year-long loan deal.
The Greek centre-back has performed ably during his time with Die Schwaben even though he had to deal with injury problems early in his tenure at the club. To date, Mavropanos has featured 37 times for the Bundesliga club, with 15 of those coming in the ongoing campaign. Along with his defensive nous, he has also impressed as a goal threat in the opposition box, having netted five goals this season.
Stuttgart have the option of making his transfer permanent at the end of his loan spell for a minimal fee of €3 million, which they are expected to do. However, Mavropanos might not remain at the club for long after that as he is starting to attract interest from clubs like Borussia Dortmund and West Ham United.
The Hammers need defensive reinforcements in January itself after having lost Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna to injuries and are eyeing a move for Nathaniel Phillips of Liverpool, while other defenders like Manchester City’s Nathan Ake and Daniele Rugani of Juventus are also being considered.
While they are expected to sign at least one new central defender in the winter, Mavropanos has emerged as a target for the summer. A move at the end of the season makes sense for David Moyes & co., given that Ogbonna and Craig Dawson are not getting any younger. The report adds that Stuttgart could demand as much as €25 million for the defender.
Whether West Ham are willing to wait till the summer and sign him for that fee or decide to try and negotiate a deal with Arsenal in January itself remains to be seen.
